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Once Bitten, But Not Shy at All
Ukraine restarted the last working nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl power plant on Friday after almost five months of repairs, ignoring strong international pressure to shut it down. Ukrainian officials had previously agreed to close the reactor by the end of this year, but they have now pushed the date forward to sometime next year, […]
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Exhortin' Us to Hear the WHO
Environmental degradation increasingly threatens the existence of the world’s 300 million indigenous people, as do disease and poverty, according to a report released Friday by the World Health Organization. For example, populations in the Arctic have been exposed to very high levels of industrial contaminants. Native peoples in Alaska often lack safe drinking water and […]
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Ashes, Ashes, We All Burn Down
The world’s first solar-powered crematorium is being built in the Indian state of Gujarat, and it will save about 660 pounds of firewood for each body cremated. A 540-square-foot solar dish will reflect the sun’s rays onto a specially built coffin, taking two to three hours to reduce a body to ashes. The dish cost […]
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A Sworded Affair
Atlantic swordfish are in trouble, no thanks to fishing nations that this week refused to lower the allowable catch to a level scientists believe is sustainable. Delegates to an international negotiating meeting in Rio de Janeiro, which concluded on Monday, lowered the swordfish catch to 11,660 tons for next year, down from 12,980 this year, […]
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Burning Bush
GOP presidential contender John McCain said yesterday that he plans to increase the visibility of environmental issues in his campaign and make a major policy address on the environment within the next few weeks. McCain: “I believe the environment may be the sleeper issue of the campaign. There’s great concern throughout this country and there’s […]
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Farm Groups Seed the Light
More than 30 U.S. farm groups representing tens of thousands of farmers said yesterday that planting genetically modified crops could imperil farmers’ livelihoods because the crops are becoming increasingly unpopular with consumers. The groups also warned that inadequate testing of GM seeds could make farmers vulnerable to “massive liability” from damage caused by drifting pollen […]
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Paper Chase Gets Some Results
International Paper Co., the world’s largest paper company and one of the biggest private landowners in the U.S., has hired an outside firm to verify that its forest-management practices are environmentally sound, the company will announce today. Pressure is growing on the timber and paper industry to adopt sustainable logging practices, and International Paper said […]
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No Take-Backs!
The European Parliament is backing off from stringent draft legislation that would have required automakers to take back old cars and bear the full cost of recycling or reusing them by 2006. Lawmakers are now considering a plan that would split disposal costs between manufacturers, car owners, and scrap yards. The more strict draft law […]
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The Pen Is Mightier Than the Swordfish
In a move applauded by enviros, a U.S. federal judge yesterday banned swordfish boats from a 1 million square-mile area of the Pacific Ocean while the government determines whether the vessels are pushing sea turtles to extinction. The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed in February by the Center for Marine Conservation and the Turtle […]
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Desert — Rats!
Nearly 58,000 square miles of land, an area larger than Greece, are turned to desert each year, affecting more than 1 billion people and forcing many of them to flee their homes in search of food and work. Officials from more than 150 nations will try to address the problem this week at the U.N. […]
